History Dinner at Gorge Discovery Center Oct. 18

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center hosts “An Evening with David Childs,” Friday, Oct. 18. A pasta bar dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m., followed by the presentation at 6:30.

In an informal interview setting, World War II veteran and author David Childs talks about his experience as a farm boy from Arlington who became a 9th Air Force Thunderbolt fighter pilot, and about becoming a POW after his plane was shot down in flames. He will be joined by his wife, Peggy, who will talk about life as a military wife, and the letters she wrote him daily.

Childs wrote a book on his World War II experiences, “Wings and Tracks.” He is currently writing another book, “A Search for Water, Willows and Wisdom.”

His interest in streams and watersheds was piqued when he observed how the craters that destroyed the landscape in Europe in the “no man’s land” of World War I had eventually filled in with water, which allowed the ecosystem to restore itself and help heal the land. A Q&A session will round out the evening. The interview and Q&A will be led by veteran radio news director Rodger Nichols.